If the Rockets are fine paying 18-25 million for a role player, it all depends on what they envision for him..... He is a weird player with a shot that is average to above average but the big man game that is not spectacular.
Am I the only one who's mostly fine with Jabari? I've always seen him as a roleplayer and it's becoming more clear that's what he's going to be. He's getting a lot of criticism for not "doing more" but I don't really think he needs to do more. I think he needs to do less. Stop the dribbling and just be a catch and shoot guy on offense, he shot 45% on wide open 3s last year. I know this has been a comp thrown around for years but 6'11 Ariza is fine with me.
He needs to be consistently more aggressive at getting open, rebounding and defense. I agree that he is probably just a really good starting role player. I think it is a confidence thing and youth. He wants to be able to address his weaknesses with handles and being a go to guy, but I don’t think it is in the cards for him. It is also a money thing. He wants to be a max player and he can’t get there without more playmaking ability.
I think we should be open to Jalen and/or Jabari being more well-suited coming off the bench and playing against second units at this point in their careers. If Ime is honest and this is truly a meritocracy, these guys shouldn't just be ordained based upon their draft positions. It's also not the end of their career, or superstar prospects, if they do move to the bench. They're both very young with tons of upside.
I agree. He just needs to focus on defense, rebounding, and knocking down 3s. We don’t need him to be a star.
He can become a decent role player. He will never be a star, and a 1st option. I agree he should NOT try to be a star. Pass it to Alpi, spot up for threes, rebound, and focus on defense. If anything, I think his defense has been overrated. I don't see him as a great defender.
If we move him to the bench, who takes his role? Cam seems to have improved his defense, but offensively he is not even close to being a starter. Sheppard has a long way to go the even be a rotation player, much less a starter. Like it or not Jalen will be starting at least until the all-star break and they will trade him before sending him to the bench. Jabari was fifth in rebounding as a Pf last year, has the ability to guard SF-PF. If he can improve his 3 point shot and concentrate for a full game he is a very competent starting PF. Tari is and has always been suited to be a super bench playing role player. He is way too raw to start over Jabari at Pf. Both looked putrid in yesterday’s game, but a couple of pre-season games is way to soon to declare either a bust.
It's easy, swap him and Eason. Eason is better all the way around. They should have been picked in each other's places. Same with Sengun and Jalen
I think that it's hard for any ambitious top 5 pick to accept that they are not "that guy". Going from who everyone thought was a consensus number 1 pick to being a role player is tough pill for him to swallow. That's why I think you see him dribbling himself into trouble. He's still trying to prove that he can be more than he actually is. It's up to the coaching staff to help him understand what his role truly is on this team.
Jabari struggles with classic tweener tendencies. He's not big enough to ward off physical players or quick enough to guard traditional small forwards. I keep thinking that something will click and he'll anticipate better (both ways), but some guys just don't have that. His shooting remains the big wildcard. If he can make the uncontested jumper, the staff must put him in positions and rotations that allow him to get that comfortable shot off. If he does, then his defensive liabilities are forgivable.
He was billed as a generational big shooting prospect and someone who defend at a high level. Right now he is doing neither. He's an okay player but the concerns are going to be what are we willing to pay for him. I hope steadily improves but I am cringing at the prospect of paying him 30+ Million a year. That being said it's going to be hard to find someone that can take his role as a 6'11 defender who can defend the larger wings in the NBA. We also have Wemby & Chet to contend with in our own conference. If anything, it would be in our best interest for Jabari to continue to play mediocre so we can offer a team friendly extension.
If he turns out to be Channing Frye but good at defense I think that's a great outcome. Every team needs roleplayers.
